Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov and Secretary of the Party Committee of the Chinese province of Shandong Lin Wu held a meeting at which issues of deepening cooperation in trade, economic, transport and logistics spheres were discussed, El.kz reports with reference to the Official Information Source of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
At the meeting, it was noted that more than 6% of the total volume of trade between Kazakhstan and China falls on Shandong. Alikhan Smailov stressed Kazakhstan's interest in further promotion of its products to the Chinese market and the study of new areas of cooperation. In this context, it is important to deepen cooperation within the framework of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative and develop the transport potential of both countries.
Smailov also noted that the launch of the first return train for the delivery of Kazakh barley to China, which recently took place in Almaty, contributes to an increase in the supply of Kazakh products along this route. In addition, he stressed the importance of holding a Kazakh-Chinese forum on cooperation with Shandong Province in Astana as soon as possible, which will help expand interaction between the business circles of both countries.
Lin Wu, in turn, stressed that there is great potential for expanding cooperation in the fields of deep processing of agricultural products, trade and construction of logistics infrastructure. He said that representatives of more than 100 enterprises from Shandong came with him and expressed confidence that thanks to joint efforts, future cooperation will be even more productive.
Shandong Province is an important center of agricultural production in China, specializing in the cultivation of products such as wheat, cotton, peanuts and tobacco. In December 2022, KTZ NC JSC and Shandong Port Group, the largest port operator in China, signed a memorandum of cooperation to develop multimodal container services and related digital products.